UPDATE 1-Charles Taylor allowed to appeal over documents

THE HAGUE, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Former Liberian president
Charles Taylor, who boycotted his war crimes trial for a third
day on Friday, was granted the right to appeal over key
documentation for a case that has drawn international interest.

Taylor, the first African leader to stand trial for war
crimes, has denied 11 charges of instigating murder, rape,
mutilation, sexual slavery and conscription of child soldiers
during the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s.

Prosecutors accuse Taylor of directing Revolutionary United
Front rebels who raped, killed and hacked the limbs off women,
men and children in a campaign of terror, and say he sought
control of Sierra Leone's diamond mines, using so-called "blood
diamonds" from the conflict zone for profit or to buy weapons.

The case is being followed closely in West Africa, Europe
and the United States because of the political and security
implications, and a final ruling is expected later this year.

A U.S. diplomat has warned that if Taylor is acquitted or
gets a light sentence, his return to Liberia could "tip the
balance in a fragile peace".

Taylor and his defence lawyer Courtenay Griffiths boycotted
most of the hearings this week after the Special Court for
Sierra Leone refused to accept the defence's almost 600-page
final case summary because they filed it 20 days late.

But on Friday, the judges agreed to allow Griffiths to
appeal that decision and postponed hearings for two weeks.

Griffiths welcomed the court's decision.

"I think that reason is finally beginning to prevail and
that by granting or allowing us permission to appeal the
decision to refuse our final brief, we are on track now
hopefully to bring this trial to an appropriate ending,"
Griffiths told reporters outside the court.

"I am hopeful that we can file by Tuesday or Wednesday next
week and then the members of the appeal chamber will deliberate
on our application and hopefully thereafter we might get a
result by the following week because I am sure everyone is
anxious to bring these proceedings to a close, including us on
the defence side."

Griffiths had requested an extension of the filing time
limit before the January deadline.

He said he had been waiting for the judges to rule on eight
legal matters and therefore had not been ready to file his
summary.